


Generations

by woodelf



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22896874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodelf/pseuds/woodelf
Summary: Gold and Henry bond at the site of Neal's grave.
Relationships: Baelfire | Neal Cassidy & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Henry Mills & Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	Generations

**Author's Note:**

> The scene that needed to be written. Fixing canon as much as I was able to.

“Mom, can I take a walk? By myself? Now that Zelena’s gone, it’s safe, right?” Henry hesitated. “I…I want to visit Dad’s grave. Now that I remember.”

“Yeah, of course.” Emma rested a hand lightly on her son’s head. “Call if you need anything.”

Henry slowly began to make his way to the outskirts of town where the cemetery lay. As he trudged towards the headstone marking his father’s grave, he saw there was already someone there. He paused, then identified the slight figure, and continued on until he was by the man’s side.

“Hey, Mr. Gold – ” he began, then took a deep breath and gathered his courage. “Hey, Grandpa.” He kept his eyes fixed on the stone.

“Oh, Henry.”

Henry felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder and pull him in close. He leaned against his grandfather slightly, seeking comfort and wanting to give it at the same time. 

“We seem to be cursed in this family to growing up without our fathers,” Gold said, his voice thick. “I’m so sorry. I would have done anything to spare you this.”

“I know.” Henry’s throat felt thick, too, with unshed tears. “At least he had you for 14 years before…you know, the Dark One thing,” he said apologetically. “And you even did that for him. But he told me how great a father you were, before.”

“I tried. I couldn’t give him much in the way of material things, but from the moment I knew I was going to be a father, I wanted him so much, and the first time he was placed in my arms – I loved him with everything I had, Henry. The best boy ever.” He glanced down, ruffled Henry’s hair slightly. “No wonder I was fond of you, even before I knew who you were. You’re so much like him. I’m sorry if I haven’t been much of a grandfather to you yet.”

“You’ve had a lot going on,” Henry said understandingly. “First Hook, then Cora, then Pan, then Zelena – why can’t anything good ever happen to us?”

“Something might have,” Gold admitted.

“Yeah, what?” Henry looked up at him, though he didn’t have far to look these days. 

“Belle and I got married.”

“And you didn’t tell me? I would have wanted to be there!”

“It was just us, with Archie to perform the ceremony and Belle’s father. Very private.”

“But Belle had someone there for her,” Henry argued. “You should have had someone there for you.”

“I had Belle." But he was warmed by Henry’s words nonetheless.

"Is that why you’re here? Were you telling Dad about it? Did you at least take pictures?”

“I think Moe might have taken one or two. Belle wanted one to put in a frame.”

Henry sighed. “What did Belle look like?”

“Here.” Gold gestured, and a picture appeared floating in mid-air, showing him and Belle standing in the woods by the well.

“Oh, cool,” Henry breathed. “I don’t suppose you could change it into a photograph, so I could have one to have?”

The image shrank, coalesced, and suddenly Gold was holding a glossy photograph, which he handed to Henry with a flourish.

“Cool,” Henry said again, grinning. “Thanks. Still should have invited me, though.”

“You’re right, Henry. I would have asked Neal to be there; and you’re my only family left, besides Belle now. It was a spur of the moment thing when to have it, though – and I probably would have doubted you’d want to come. But you’re right; I should have asked. Let me make it up to you? Come over to my place and you and I and Belle can have a little private celebration all to ourselves? You’ve got another grandmother too now, you know.”

Henry giggled. “My family tree is so screwed up. Both my grandmothers are like the same age as my mom, and I’ve got a new uncle who is only a tiny baby.” He sobered for a moment. “How did you feel about that, them naming the baby Neal?”

“A fitting honour, but I admit it will be a painful reminder, too, for a while, to constantly hear that name. But he was always Bae to me, in my head.”

“Yeah.” Henry was silent for a minute. “We’ll tell him everything about who he was named for, so he knows, and Dad isn’t ever forgotten. That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Very good.” They both stared at the gravestone for a minute.

“Can you add ‘Beloved Father’ to the writing?” Henry ventured.

“Of course. I should have already done,” Gold apologized, and waved his hand. When the golden smoke cleared, the words were etched into the stone beneath Neal’s name, balancing the words atop it.

“Thanks.” Henry tilted his head to briefly rest it against Gold’s shoulder for a moment, and then fished out his phone. “I’ll call Mom and ask if I can come over.” A minute later he was speaking.

“Yeah, hi, Mom, would it be all right if I went over Grandpa – ” he hesitated, mentally vacillating between 'Rum’ and 'Gold’ “ – Grandpa Gold’s house?”

Gold smiled as he heard Emma’s confused voice on the other end of the line, and then, louder --

“ _OH MY GOD, HE MARRIED BELLE?"_

“She wants to talk to you,” said Henry matter-of-factly, passing him the phone.

Gold took it. “Hello, Miss Swan.”

“ _Hi._ _Look…_ _you were nearly my father-in-law, you’re Henry’s grandfather, you can call me Emma if you want. I hear congratulations are in order.”_

“Thank you. Yes, we got married.”

“ _Henry can visit with you if you promise to have him home safe and unharmed by 6 o'clock sharp for dinner. Got it?”_

“Darn, there go my plans for locking him in a trunk in the attic,” Gold said drily. “Of course, home by 6. He’ll be there.”

_“And no stuffing him full of cookies or ice cream right before dinner, either,”_ she warned.

Gold laughed out loud. “I can see my reputation as the Dark One is going downhill.”

“ _Yeah, well, just telling you the rules._ _And it’s well known_ _that the Dark Side has cookies,"_ she added cryptically. ” _You just take care of him.“_

_”_ Not a hair on his head shall be out of place,“ Gold promised. 

” _All right, tell Belle I said 'hi’.“_

"Will do. 'Bye.” He handed the phone back to Henry. “Your mother seems to think I’m going to spoil your dinner by stuffing you full of cookies.”

“Are you?” Henry asked hopefully.

“Don’t be silly. Do you think the Dark One keeps a full cookie jar around in case his grandson decides to drop by?” He winked at Henry. “I do have ice cream in the freezer, however.”

He moved closer to the headstone and rested his hand on it. “I’ll look after him for you, son. I promise.”

Henry smiled, and then glanced sideways at Gold mischievously. “Same here, Dad. I’ll keep an eye on Grandpa for you, make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble.”

“Hey!”

“What?” asked Henry innocently. “Are you saying you lead a quiet life?”

“I'd _like_ to,” said Gold, with heartfelt emotion. “I’m an old man, you know.”

“With a hot young wife.” Henry waggled his eyebrows expressively.

“Neal, did you hear that?” Gold demanded in mock outrage. “Your son is calling his grandmother hot! And you’re supposed to say that I’m not old.”

“Well, you are. Centuries old. So was Dad. Time’s weird,” he said simply. “Bye, Dad, I’ll come talk to you again soon." 

"As will I. I love you, Bae. Always and forever.” Gold gave one final caress to the headstone. “And now, I’m going to go stuff my grandson with ice cream, if he promises to not let it spoil his dinner.” He put his arm around Henry, giving him a conspiratorial smile, and they began walking away.

“I’m a growing boy,” Henry’s voice floated back on the breeze, full of assurance. “I’ve got _lots_ of room.”

And the day was no longer quite so grim.


End file.
